Israel, for the first time, denies entry to BDS activist

For the first time, Israel has acted on its new directives and has denied entry to an anti-Israel activist.

Israel turned away an anti-Israel activist who tried to enter the country on Monday after landing at Ben Gurion Airport from Malawi.

World Council of Churches

Dr. Isabel Phiri, Associate General Secretary for the World Council of Churches (WCC), was blocked from entering Israel because of her work with the group to malign Israel and damage it through an economic boycott. The State Department considers the WCC to be a communist-influenced group which supports “radical leftist and/or violent movements in the Third World.” A KGB member served as its past president.

The WCC refers to Zionism as a “distasteful aberration” and has established several programs to attack the state of Israel, including the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), which brings activists to the Jewish state to create publicity material alleging that Palestinians are oppressed.

Anti-Israel activists visiting Israel

Israel’s government recently established an inter-ministerial team tasked with tracking down and deporting anti-Israel activists who come to the Jewish State for the purpose of harming the country. The team also works to prevent the future entry of activists who operate for the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement.

This is the first time Israel has acted on its new directives to deny entry to an anti-Israel activist. Interior Minister Aryeh Deri and Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan made the joint decision to bar Dr. Phiri’s entry. Deri said that the authority given to him as a minister was intended specifically for instances like this in which passengers arrive in Israel under a false pretense, when they are actually coming to encourage anti-Israel activity.

“To approve the entry of activists like Phiri is in fact to strengthen the unacceptable activities which she and her peers promote, and I have no intention of allowing this. I will use all my authority to prevent damage to Israel,” said Deri.

Erdan added that Israel “will continue to work to prevent the entry of BDS activists into the country. Their sole purpose is to harm the State of Israel by gathering information and presenting it in a distorted and false manner in order to harm Israel in the world. These activists belong outside the borders of the country, and we will continue to work in every possible fashion to prevent them from entering our country.”

Boycott movements

Dozens of organizations, operating under various covers, operate in Israel to collect information that is related to the BDS movement and used against Israel. The activists and anarchists also arrive in Judea and Samaria and incite the local Arabs to act violently against the IDF.

The BDS movement promotes financial, academic and cultural boycotts against Israel, ostensibly as a nonviolent struggle against the so-called “Israeli occupation.” Critics say its activities are a modern form of anti-Semitism, reminiscent of earlier economic boycotts forbidding business dealings with Jews, and that its true objective is to destroy the State of Israel. Over 20 states have passed or are considering legislation to prevent discrimination against the Jewish state.

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News